ABUJA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Presidency sources have confirmed the investigation of and arrest of some senior officials of some Federal Government agencies allegedly involved in the conversion of dollar earnings into naira before remitting same to the federation account.
Sources said the president is enraged over the issue and has vowed that any official found to be involved in the corrupt practice will be punished according to extant rules.
This is just as financial experts say the Federal Government may have lost billions of naira through the fraudulent practice of converting dollar earnings to naira before remitting such earnings to the federation account, a crime the federal government is currently investigating and has vowed to punish those involved.
According to the experts, the act is criminal as most of the dollar earnings may have been converted through unofficial channels and at unofficial rates, and that acts such as this may be responsible for the volatility of the naira.
A presidency source told LEADERSHIP Sunday over the weekend that last Thursday’s announcement of the corrupt practice which has been going on for long now was not the first time the issue was brought to the knowledge of the federal government. He said the matter was already known to the authorities and investigation had been going on to unravel the extent of the sleaze and those involved in it.
The source who preferred anonymity because he was not mandated to speak on the issue, said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government was not leaving any stone unturned in ensuring that those involved in the corrupt practice are found and punished, and whatever revenue accruing to the government, that may have been siphoned through this means is recovered.
He said the ongoing investigation was in line with the Buhari administration’s commitment to blocking all areas of revenue leakage and mopping up same for use for developmental projects that will benefit all Nigerians.
“This revelation is a pointer to the fact that corruption in the country is at an unimaginable level. I can tell you that the president is not taking this issue lightly and is committed to see to it that whatever shortfalls from what was remitted to the federation account are recovered,” he added.
According to the source, some officials of the NNPC, NPA and NIMASA found to have been involved, from preliminary investigations, had been either arrested or invited for questioning by relevant anti-corruption agencies of the government.
LEADERSHIP Sunday recalls that the Federal Government on Thursday announced that it had mandated the Adams Oshiomhole led ad hoc committee on remittances by agencies into the federation account, to investigate some government agencies which are said to have been in the habit of remitting dollar revenue in naira into the federal government coffers.
This followed a revelation by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, during the monthly meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), where he disclosed that some agencies of government, including but not limited to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) had over time, been remitting dollar earnings to government coffers in naira.
Governor of Cross River State, Prof Ben Ayade, who disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the end of the meeting, confirmed that investigations were on going.
According to Ayade, the affected agencies were already undergoing a separate probe instituted by NEC through the governor Adams Oshiomhole-led ad hoc committee on remittances by the agencies into the federation account.
Meanwhile, the NNPC has confirmed that earnings from sale of crude are remitted to the federation account in naira, and not in dollars. The corporation however denied that some of its officials had been arrested for questioning as part of the ongoing investigations.
Spokesman of NNPC, Ohi Alegbe, when contacted by LEADERSHIP Sunday, denied that staff of the corporation had been arrested by security operatives over remittances of dollar revenue in Naira.
Alegbe who spoke to our correspondent on phone, said, “as far as I know, no staff of the NNPC has been arrested by any security agency. Not one.”
While faulting the story making the rounds, Alegbe explained that the corporation normally remits revenue from the 445,000 barrels of crude oil allocated to it daily for domestic consumption in naira.
“When we dispose of the 445,000 barrels of crude allocated to the NNPC daily, the revenue is remitted in naira to the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) not in dollars.
”All other revenue, including those from the NNPC retail outlets are also remitted in naira to FAAC,” the NNPC spokesman added.
He further explained that the corporation has begun a publication of its financial operations and revenue remittances to the federal government, stating that the figures are all in the public domain for anyone interested to access.
Also responding to enquiry about the arrest and investigation of some officials of the concerned agencies, spokesman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Wilson Uwajaren, said he had no information of the arrest.
Agencies’ action is illegal, hurts the economy – Experts
Financial experts have urged the federal government to thoroughly investigate the issue which they described as illegal and a scam.
According to the Managing Director and Chief Executive of RTC Advisory Services, Opeyemi Agbaje, the government ought to question those involved in the scam.
He questioned the methodology through which they determined the exchange rate, saying, “if they used the official exchange rate, that means that they made great profit considering the margin between the official and market rates.”
Agbaje said those involved should be investigated and made to refund whatever gain must have been made.
“We should know who was in charge of determining the exchange rate, was it an individual or was it the organisation itself.
“There is a big opportunity for people in these ministries to make money by giving the government a lower rate and then selling at the market price which is higher and making profit. This is something that should be investigated. We should know what mechanism was used in determining the price at which they converted the foreign earnings,” he added.
Also speaking on the issue, the managing director of Highcap Securities Limited, Mr. David Adnori said legally, the organisations do not have the right to convert the dollar earnings to naira before remitting to the CBN.
“This is an illegal act, there can be change in foreign exchange and this can lead to corruption,” he said.
A senior stockbroker with Calyxt Securities Limited, Mr. Tunde Oyediran, however differed. He said earning revenue in dollars and remitting to the CBN or federation account in naira will help stabilise the naira and also have a boosting effect on the country’s foreign trade.
According to him, it all depends on the exchange rate of naira to dollar, and that the CBN has pegged a dollar to N197 and this will be the transaction rate taken to the federation account.
Credit: Leadership (Nigeria)
